Concussion wouldn’t stop Marcial

Now it can be told. After Eumir Marcial stopped Mongolia’s Byamba Otgonbaatar in the quarterfinals of the Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament to book a ticket to Tokyo in Amman, Jordan, last week, he was advised to forfeit his next fight against India’s Ashish Kumar.

Marcial’s win over Byamba assured him of an Olympic slot and he could’ve skipped his semifinal duel with Kumar without jeopardizing his qualification. ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson disclosed yesterday that Marcial suffered a slight concussion from an accidental head collision during the bout against Byamba.

ABAP president Ricky Vargas, closely monitoring the situation in Jordan from Manila, said he opened the option of Marcial withdrawing from the semifinals. But it was up to Marcial himself to decide whether to continue or not. He had already qualified for the Olympics so there was nothing else to prove. Picson, however, said withdrawing would pull down Marcial’s seeding in Tokyo. 

“Eumir was black and blue on the left side of his face because of that head collision,” said Picson. “When we suggested that it might be better to just withdraw, he emphatically pleaded to be allowed to fight.” Picson quoted Marcial as saying, in Pilipino, “no, I want to fight for the gold … this (concussion) is nothing, I can fight through this.”

Marcial wouldn’t be held back and went on to battle Kumar, winning on a 4-1 decision to set up a final showdown with Kazakhstan’s Abilkhan Amankul. With the gold medal at stake, Marcial was even more determined to continue fighting. He stormed out of his corner in the first round looking to dominate, not necessarily overpower, the Kazakh. Marcial has always been known as a relentless power puncher. This time, he went about his business with patience and precision.

Marcial pounded out a win by a 3-2 split decision with three judges scoring it 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for the Filipino top-seed and two judges awarding it to Amankul, 29-28 and 29-28. “It was a masterful performance,” said Picson. “Eumir controlled the fight from the start and proved he’s not just a slugger, that he can also box. Hindi siya gigil. In past fights, he would go out there looking for a knockout. Against Amankul, he took his time, he was more like a stylist. He fought smart. He let Amankul come to him then countered. Eumir was impressive. He had good timing, he did what he had to do to win.”

Picson said winning the gold in Amman was special for Marcial and he did it for his father Eulalio who introduced him to boxing and was his first coach as a boy. “It was his commitment to realize his father’s dream,” said Picson. “He’s always talking about that, not only to media but even to us. He’s really singularly focused on that dream. He even rejected several offers to turn pro and they involved millions of pesos even before he threw a punch.”         

Clinching the gold in Amman means a high seeding for Marcial in Tokyo. It could translate into a first round bye and a shorter route to the throne. Marcial won’t be drawn to fight a top contender until late in the competition.

Marcial’s advance to Tokyo was particularly sweet because he failed to win a box-off for a booking in the 2016 Rio Olympics at the Asia/Oceania qualifiers in China. Marcial lost to Mongolia’s Byamba Tuvshinbat on a 3-0 verdict in a 69 kg box-off. It was sweet revenge for Marcial to make it to Tokyo at a Mongolian’s expense in the 75 kg quarterfinals in Amman.

Marcial, 24, swept his four opponents in this year’s Asia/Oceania qualifiers, starting with a 5-0 decision over Australia’s Kirra Ruston. In his corner were Australian consultant Don Abnett and Ronald Chavez with Elmer Pamisa the third man off the apron. Before the tournament, Boxing News of London described Marcial as “an exciting prospect” and “a powerhouse to be reckoned with.” But Boxing News also said Amankul was “world-class” and mentioned that “Kazakh boxers typically combine speed, strength and ringcraft.”     

There were 16 countries that participated in Amman with 63 Olympic tickets on the line. The Philippines qualified Marcial and women’s flyweight Irish Magno. Failing to advance were flyweight Carlo Paalam, featherweight Ian Clark Bautista and lightweight James Palicte in the men’s division and featherweight Nesthy Petecio and lightweight Riza Pasuit in the women’s division. Kazakhstan and India were the top-notchers in the qualifiers, sending nine fighters each to Tokyo. Uzbekistan had seven, China six, Jordan five and Thailand and Chinese-Taipei, four each. The Philippines has a chance to add more boxers to its Olympic roster through the world qualifiers in Paris on May 13-20.